Of Puzzles and Goodbyes
by Lady Anaia Lionel
Summary: Chihiro visits the entrance to the red tunnel every day to leave a token of her memories. Goodbyes are the hardest when all you really want to say is hello. A response to Pinkconchshell's bouquet challenge! Read, enjoy, and feel free to comment and rate


It was always goodbye for her. Goodbye to her home when they moved. Goodbye to her parents when they became pigs and she didn't see them until she managed to save them. Goodbye to all of her friends she made in the Spirit World.

Yet, these had no weight to the goodbye that haunted her the most. It tortured her day in and day out as she walked along the paths of the woods near her home. Every day she found the foliage taking over the area that had the red tunnel's entrance stand before her.

Every day she left it alone, she made a promise not to look back, but it was all she could do. Look back onto her past, to the memories that remained just that. No one else dreamed what she dreamed, although her parents made comments about feeling rather piggish, because she was the only one to remember.

The only thing reminding her was the carefully crafted band of purple her friends made for her. It rested on her wrist now, always being worn, taken care of. It seemed to have a sort of calming effect on her when she should have been most afraid.

Afraid, it seemed like such an inappropriate word for someone walking in the woods they've ventured to for years. After all, she was eighteen now, light hair having been left to grow and pulled back in a simple ponytail and rounded eyes forming into something more elegant. Her body grew as well in height, giving her a somewhat petite stature whilst not seeming short at all with her figure having the slightest of hinted curves that womanhood blessed upon those whom have surpassed puberty.

Every time she would visit, she would leave something at the entrance. A white puzzle piece to be painted when it was all put together. The entirety of the puzzle was now gone, left one at a time during her visits. There was no design to it, and she only imagined that animals probably scurried off with the pieces. Nests or probably chew toys served as their purpose now rather than something of a gift.

If someone from _there_ was taking the pieces, she wondered what they would do with them. Would they put them all together and eventually paint a picture with them? After all, today they would receive the last piece to her puzzle. Plain, just like she always envisioned herself. Plain like the orange shirt and blue jeans she wore that day. It was plain like her life ever since she left the Spirit world.

As plain as the feelings she had for the one she has said goodbye to. To Kohaku… or as she knew him better… Haku. Her dragon, her hero, her river… and also the one she found she loved the most. There was never a comparison to him despite those whom would try to win her over.

Her heart was already given to someone… her heart was left in the Spirit World, awaiting her return so it could beat in her chest once more. Giving every breath, or lack thereof, meaning when she would instead say hello. Hello my friends, she would say, hello Rin, hello Granny.

Hello my love. My Haku.

Feet would carry her again to that place, and she stood there, gripping tightly onto that last piece as she finally spoke aloud with a voice that was cool, yet hid various emotions inside, "Hello Spirit World."

No response except for a breeze that smelled of dust and water. It smelled of cobwebs and moss… and oddly… flowers. It was a sudden gust that she braced herself against, throwing the webs and dust at her, scattering leaves and plants around her. It took all she had to keep herself from crying out and running in fear. To keep from falling over.

Then, instead of bits of dirt and dust bouncing against her huddled form, she felt soft velvet bits caress her for a moment before flitting away behind her. Daring to look up, she saw the whirlwind of red petals flying out of the tunnel and slowly she stood. Curiosity bound her and she walked forward, step by step until she stood flush with the entrance, petals still flew from it.

Something ahead of her caught her interest… something not moved by the wind rather, seeming the source of it. Her body moved her forward even though she felt part of her waver before the unknowing. Before her was a table… and on it was a puzzle… her puzzle almost complete. The puzzle had been painted with a beautiful cluster of red roses looking so real bordered in white but seeming to escape the frame.

Itching fingers ached to touch it, to see if it was real… and her hand moved forward onto the carefully painted puzzle-canvas and drew a breath as she felt her hands sink passed the surface onto the petals and it seemed more exploded and flew around her in a clouded red frenzy.

Vision was clouded… and all she could see was the painting and the petals, her last puzzle piece fell from her fingers and she finally cried out in surprise as something shifted… the ground out from beneath her seemed to have slipped out.

Now, she was falling, down and down, the pieces of the rose puzzle raining out about her and falling like little fluffs of snow and all she could see below her was a city surrounded in water. A city so vague in memory, but stinging in familiarity making her heart hurt.

Petals fell even slower than her, leaving in a sort of cloud high above her as she fell, but part of her felt unafraid. Improper; she should have been screaming her head off like a child, so why wasn't she? Wasn't she about to plummet to her death and become a human pancake?

"Hello Spirit World…" she found her voice only wanted to form those words and her fleshy pink lips smiled as she closed her eyes and allowed herself to fall. Above her, the petal cloud exploded and she heard a sort of growl and her eyes snapped open.

A snake-like white figure was barreling down towards her, and upon the distance closing between them she saw his emerald eyes. Glee filled her and she arms became outstretched towards them, "Haku! Hello my Haku! I've returned!"

The form broke into scales that flitted behind him like white petals mixing with the red and an older form greeted her with short black-green hair whipping wildly about his ears and he gave a warm smile, hands stretching out to grasp hers as they met.

His arms pulled her into his embrace and they seemed to fall slower now, easing down eventually onto the bridge that they had first met. The puzzle pieces fell scattered around the clasped-armed couple, and a quiet sobbing could be heard.

"Haku… Haku… you… I… am really here." Pulling away just enough, she looked up at him with shining dark eyes as tears continued to fall forth, "I always hoped… no… I knew… that this had all been real. You were real… I didn't…"

A gentle smile was returned to her, "Hush Chihiro, you are here now, and we met again like I said we would." The man rose one arm and waved it, the pieces floating up and coming together once more, the image facing the two before he loosened his embrace. One arm carefully wrapped about her waist as he smiled, "You know how frustrating it is to be missing that one last piece from the puzzle? I've been waiting a long time you know. Rather hard to make a picture when you get a piece so rarely. And such small pieces, Chihiro, honestly making it that much more difficult."

"But… I've lost the last piece now…" her voice was full of shame as she looked at the beautiful painting then towards the ground, "Now… you cannot finish it." Her shame soon turned into confusion as he laughed and held up his hand holding the final white piece, "How did you-"

A grin, "You brought it after all, and lately I've been feeling as if I've been missing something much like this puzzle has been." The piece floated and danced until it fitted itself against the white corner piece. Suddenly, the entire thing glowed brightly, causing Chihiro to cover her eyes. After a moment, she uncovered them and stared in awe as a bundle of roses tied together with a wide white ribbon was floating before them.

With his free hand, the spirit had grasped it and moved his securing arm away from her. Haku stepped away from her, brushing his white robes slightly before turning towards her with a large grin, kneeling down in front of her, "Chihiro, never again will we have to say goodbye. Only good night for the times we fall asleep and good morning for when we awake. If you can… want to accept this, will you please be by my side always?"

Eyes widened and she took the bouquet from his hands before throwing her arms around him, knocking him down on the ground, "Oh Haku!" she cried out happily, "I never wanted to leave you in the first place!" Smiles, tears, and kisses were exchanged and beside them lay a pile of white puzzle pieces and the roses.


End file.
